Why Superman is still interesting on his 75th birthday

Or: How do you solve a problem like near-omnipotence?

I'm used to getting my fair share of derision when I admit in public that Superman is still one of my favorite superheroes. Practically everyone goes through a Superman phase when they're growing up; kids are usually attracted to the hero's nigh-unbeatable powers and the easy, black-and-white clarity of his do-gooder persona. As superhero fans get older, though, they tend to gravitate to other, more nuanced superheroes that aren't so, well, square. These days, more people seem to find themselves relating more to Batman's tortured past, Iron Man's sardonic, devil-may-care attitude, or the over-the-top violence and winking meta-references of the heroes in Kick Ass.

I get it. Compared to other superheroes, Superman can come off as kind of boring. He's so powerful that the foes he fights are usually either ridiculously overpowered or have to twist themselves into convoluted plot knots just to have a chance against him. His primary weakness, a bit of glowing green rock from his exploded home planet, acts too often as a "get out of jail free" card for writers looking for an easy loophole.

But the trait that most gets in the way of telling a good Superman story is often his extreme boy scout image. How are you supposed to create interesting conflict when your hero is, by definition, the embodiment of truth, justice, and the American way? In these days of extreme moral ambiguity in popular fiction, Superman's righteousness seems downright outdated, which is somewhat understandable today, 75 years to the day since Superman made his premiere in Action Comics #1.

I went through my own Superman phase growing up; I spent hours poring through an old hardback collection of classic Superman stories with a kind of awed reverence, and I learned all I could about the arcana behind the character. The whole "Death of Superman" story arc in the early '90s was perfectly timed to kick my Superman interest into overdrive just as I was entering my pre-teen years. I devoured the whole "death and rebirth" saga, drawn in by the idea of something powerful enough to actually beat Superman and intrigued by the mysterious imposters that rose to take his place in the "World Without a Superman" arc.

You don’t tug on Superman’s cape

While the whole death of Superman storyline was in a way a high point for American comics (DC shipped over 2.5 million copies of Superman (Vol. 2) #75, where he actually dies), it also kind of blunted the potential impact of any future Superman stories. Where is a narrative supposed to go after its main character has already been killed and has come back to life without much of a hitch? What are they going to do—kill him again? Bring the murderous Doomsday back for yet another climactic fight? (Actually, the answer to that last question is yes: Doomsday has returned roughly half a dozen times since Superman "killed" him in his "final" battle).

This background mostly explains why my interest in Superman waned quickly after the whole rebirth storyline was done. I followed the Superman continuity half-heartedly for a while, but I reached my limit with the ridiculous Superman Red/Superman Blue saga, which turned the Last Son of Krypton into some sort of ridiculous, split-personailty energy being.

Yet I still harbor a soft spot for the Man of Steel, and still think there are plenty of compelling stories to be told about him. These tend to come not from the "main" continuity of monthly Superman books but in one-off side stories that aren't afraid to play with Superman's iconic, symbolic role.

The first comic I came across that really opened my eyes to Superman's unique role was Kingdom Come, the four-part series by Mark Waid and Alex Ross. In a future populated by a dizzying array of superhumans (both familiar and newly created just for Kingdom Come), Superman is given a central role as the most powerful being on the planet. When he goes into a self-imposed exile in the face of a new no-holds-barred breed of murderous superhero, the entire world feels the absence profoundly and disastrously. When he's convinced to come back, an entire generation of superheroes quickly falls in line behind him, partly because of his unequaled power, and partly because of what he represents as a potential savior for a world that has gone off the rails. No other character in comics could serve that kind of role so perfectly.

But Kingdom Come also does a good job of showing the inherent limits of Superman's powers, especially when it comes to political and interpersonal relationships. His initial outreach attempt to work with humanity through the United Nations is an abject failure brought about by super-hubris. His totalitarian efforts to rehabilitate uncooperative superheroes in a Gulag causes more problems than it solves. His deep-seated and unresolved rage issues even threaten to bring the entire world down around him at one climactic point.

At its core, Kingdom Come is a story about what happens when Superman comes across a problem that he can't solve just by punching it. Indeed, many of the best Superman stories are those that examine the limits of Superman's abilities to solve endemic cultural and social issues. The one-shot Superman: Peace on Earth shows how not even the most powerful superhero in the world can easily solve world hunger. All-Star Superman examines how a nearly invincible being deals with the knowledge of his own impending death. Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns recasts Superman as a helpless government lackey, ill-equipped to fight a corrupt system bent on enslaving the world (and him). Whatever Happened To The Man Of Tomorrow memorably shows Superman crying into his hands as his world crumbles around him in an unsettling manner that only Alan Moore could pull off.

Then there are the stories that reimagine the universal Superman myth in unique and interesting ways. The Red Son series imagines Superman's Kryptonian escape vessel landing is the Soviet Union rather than Smallville, Kansas and shows how his sense of justice would develop totally differently under communism. Without giving too much away about the excellent ending, I only cite the story as a great example of how Superman's selflessness can go well beyond just throwing himself in front of bullets on occasion.

But my favorite Superman story might just be Secret Identity. In this four-part series, Kurt Busiek expertly examines what would happen if a normal child (somewhat ironically named Clark Kent) somehow developed Superman's powers in the real world, where Superman is already a well-known comic book hero and archetype. The books serve as a great examination of the "man" part of the Superman story, and the conflict inherent in trying to balance a normal family life and career with a hidden role as a superhero.

These kinds of stories show why Superman continues to endure as an idea 75 years after he practically created the modern superhero. He's the ultimate symbol of what it means to be a superhero, and as a symbol, can readily serve good writers that are willing to play with his instantly understandable role in unique ways. Hollywood hasn't quite cottoned on to this potential yet as it has with other superheroes of late, but it definitely could.

The best Superman stories are the ones that highlight his essential contradictions as a man of two worlds, a near-omnipotent being that still can't solve every problem, and a reluctant leader that has power constantly thrust upon him. When good writers play with the Superman mythos in this way, he really is Earth's greatest superhero.

Promoted Comments

I think the problem with Superman is that a good Superman story can't be about Superman being Superman, it has to be about Superman *not* being Superman. Which is quite possible, certainly, but compared to Batman (where a good story is just him being the godamned Batman), it really makes for, ironically, a really weak superhero (story wise).

That's why Superman needs Kryptonite: without it, he's just boring. Or you can do what Smallville did, and show him before he becomes Superman. Or take away his powers. Something like that.

Kingdom Come's Superman is physically supremely powerful to the point where kryptonite doesn't even work on him. Yet it's one of the best Superman stories.

Bad Superman stories are just bad stories where a poor writer uses hacks like kryptonite to give Superman weaknesses. A good writer certainly doesn't need to overuse a plot device in order to introduce tension into a story.

Superman, in fact, has a legion of weaknesses. Notable direct ones are kryptonite, withdrawal from yellow sun/exposure to red sun, magic (and boy does the DCU have a lot of magic in it), and mind control.

But Superman's greatest weakness is probably his own character. He's filled with moral righteousness, trust, compassion, and naiveté. Superman always tries to see the best in everybody, to do the right thing, and be the better man, and these traits often return to punish him.

Interesting paperback came out in 1978 by a then DC author, Elliot S! Maggin, called "Superman: Last Son of Krypton." It still had Superman ridiculously powerful, but the characterization and insights into his origins and those of Lex Luthor still stick with me to this day. I won't spoil the guest appearance in the beginning, but it was handled very nicely. Well worth picking up if you have any interest in this sort of thing.

The best Superman stories go within to provide challenges, not just green (red, gold, white, etc) rocks, magic, or even stronger, god-like villains. One of my favorite stories was "What's So Funny About Truth, Justice & the American Way?" recently animated as "Superman vs the Elite." Very similar to Kingdom Come, almost a precursor, where you see Supes struggle with the morals of holding back versus murderous anti-heroes, and a flash of what may occur if he finally cuts loose. Relatedly, another fairly recent comic I really liked was Irredeemable, which is basically a What If type of story about someone with Superman's powers who finally lost his shit (answer: the Earth does very, very badly).

It's funny, when I was last seriously collecting comics (back in the mid-90s), my two favorite superheroes were Superman and Spider-Man, the 2 big companies' respective flagship, iconic heroes. On the surface, they couldn't be more different--demi-god vs. struggling everyman. Really, what made them the most interesting to me were their internal struggles, which I realize every well written superhero will go through, but I found those two more interesting than a Batman or Iron Man for whatever reasons.

My top two picks would be Grant Morrison's All-Star Superman and Brian Azzarello's Lex Luthor: Man of Steel. Both can be read without any other background story or in-depth knowledge of the DC universe.

Personally, I prefer the "This knob goes to 11" effect of Dr. Manhattan, who is both far more powerful than Superman, and even more conflicted and alienated by that power. It doesn't make for as "human" a story as Superman does, and it wouldn't make as good an ongoing franchise, but... I always like my knob at 11.

Superman always bugged me because by the time I was interested in comics, he was (like Kyle writes) unfairly powerful. He does everything. I saw the classic Superman cartoons and remember thinking "so what he can jump over a building in a single bound, he can fly" (I learned later that flight was one of many powers tacked on over the years)

Give me Superman that is really strong, run fast, and jump high (ie the original). A fundamentally broken character is necessary to any meaningful story. The Soviet storyline sounds interesting, need to check it out.

I think the problem with Superman is that a good Superman story can't be about Superman being Superman, it has to be about Superman *not* being Superman. Which is quite possible, certainly, but compared to Batman (where a good story is just him being the godamned Batman), it really makes for, ironically, a really weak superhero (story wise).

That's why Superman needs Kryptonite: without it, he's just boring. Or you can do what Smallville did, and show him before he becomes Superman. Or take away his powers. Something like that.

Kingdom Come's Superman is physically supremely powerful to the point where kryptonite doesn't even work on him. Yet it's one of the best Superman stories.

Bad Superman stories are just bad stories where a poor writer uses hacks like kryptonite to give Superman weaknesses. A good writer certainly doesn't need to overuse a plot device in order to introduce tension into a story.

I just played Injustice: Gods Among Us through to completion yesterday, and it's one of the best DC Movies I've ever watched. The old "Supes goes rogue" story is told here, but in an extremely compelling way. Seeing the Man of Steel with a vindictive glint in his eye is damned chilling.

I'll never get tired of Superman stories; the very nature of how an omnipotent character can be laid low makes for some interesting story-telling... especially when it's not by krypton ex machina, but because of moral issues.

That linked Facebook movie plot idea gave me a really good though: Superman is such a commonly known character that they really could do alternate-take movies featuring him. No need for an origin story or to show how he came about, they can just jump right in because everyone already knows him. And if they don't, well they probably won't care anyway.

So they really could do a Red Son movie w/o needing to spend too much time on "This is what superman is normally like okay now you get the contrast MOVIE START"

I just played Injustice: Gods Among Us through to completion yesterday, and it's one of the best DC Movies I've ever watched. The old "Supes goes rogue" story is told here, but in an extremely compelling way.

Superman, in fact, has a legion of weaknesses. Notable direct ones are kryptonite, withdrawal from yellow sun/exposure to red sun, magic (and boy does the DCU have a lot of magic in it), and mind control.

But Superman's greatest weakness is probably his own character. He's filled with moral righteousness, trust, compassion, and naiveté. Superman always tries to see the best in everybody, to do the right thing, and be the better man, and these traits often return to punish him.

The irony of Superman is his moral/social/ethical flawlessness is the ultimate weakness.

I do remember at least once his saying he has to hold back his strength for fear of harming innocent people or accidently killing his opponent. That was in the cartoon but it also points out that when you make a character the ultimate Mary Sue (or whatever the male equivalent is) you end up becoming contrived in your stories to justify Superman not just being a one page comic.

Interesting paperback came out in 1978 by a then DC author, Elliot S! Maggin, called "Superman: Last Son of Krypton." It still had Superman ridiculously powerful, but the characterization and insights into his origins and those of Lex Luthor still stick with me to this day. I won't spoil the guest appearance in the beginning, but it was handled very nicely. Well worth picking up if you have any interest in this sort of thing.

That has to be one of the worst understandings of Superman ever. He just described Batman, not Superman. Bruce Wayne is a mask that Batman wears, a silly alter ego designed to make it seem unlikely he could ever be the Batman. Superman is just the opposite, he wants desperately to be human, to have a normal life with a loving wife and to use his position as a reporter to do good with his life. But the sense of responsibility he feels prevents him from ignoring the gifts he was born with, so he created a garish alter ego with which to right the wrongs that could not be solved with his typewriter.

DC often directly makes this statement and contrast with the two characters. Clark Kent is the real identity, it is the identity that was raised with Midwestern farming values, a sense of pride in his nation and its ideals, and a strong ethical compass. Superman is a strongman who rights the wrongs that cannot be fixed via words on paper. This is especially apparent in the John Byrne version where Superman operated entirely in secret until forced into the open to stop a catastrophe and being cornered(and given the name 'Superman') by Lois Lane. Had that event not occurred he had no intention of ever revealing his existence to the world. There is a great sequence in the Man of Steel mini-series where he speaks with his father and mother about how to retain his Clark Kent identity, his true self in the face of what the world will expect from a mythic Superman, and from that his costume and demeanor are created as the disguise so he can live the normal life he craves.

I love Superman because he is so good. So many powerful people seem to operate without any moral compass (many, not all), and Superman who is so ridiculously more able than any other human being still guides his actions based on decency and trying to find the "correct" path. It's noble and serves as a kind of role model. Yes, it's idealistic, but that's what myths are for, right?

PS Thanks for the tips on the various quality Superman series (also those listed in the comments).

The best Superman stories go within to provide challenges, not just green (red, gold, white, etc) rocks, magic, or even stronger, god-like villains. One of my favorite stories was "What's So Funny About Truth, Justice & the American Way?" recently animated as "Superman vs the Elite." Very similar to Kingdom Come, almost a precursor, where you see Supes struggle with the morals of holding back versus murderous anti-heroes, and a flash of what may occur if he finally cuts loose. Relatedly, another fairly recent comic I really liked was Irredeemable, which is basically a What If type of story about someone with Superman's powers who finally lost his shit (answer: the Earth does very, very badly).

It's funny, when I was last seriously collecting comics (back in the mid-90s), my two favorite superheroes were Superman and Spider-Man, the 2 big companies' respective flagship, iconic heroes. On the surface, they couldn't be more different--demi-god vs. struggling everyman. Really, what made them the most interesting to me were their internal struggles, which I realize every well written superhero will go through, but I found those two more interesting than a Batman or Iron Man for whatever reasons.

The new Man of Steel movie seems to be taking a good approach to Superman. Given that we see a lot of scenes with Clark in relative solitude, I would say that the movie will try to let the viewer empathize with Clark's inability to fit in as his powers started to manifest. In his mind, he would struggle with wanting to help people, but possibly ostracize himself by doing so. The whole plight reminds me a lot of The Watchmen's Dr. Manhattan. The reader/viewer watched as Dr. Manhattan gradually slipped away from humanity (through the gradual reduction in clothing) until he just gave up on trying to fit in. It's the difference between someone who was once human trying to retain that humanity versus someone who realizes he only looks like a human yet wishes to be normal.

As for Kryptonite, I think it can be used well, but I don't think it's really necessary in this upcoming film. I'd argue that Kryptonite is really only necessary for people in the DC universe that aren't really superheroes. For example, if Batman wanted to take down Superman for whatever reason, he would probably try and procure Kryptonite. Lex Luthor isn't a superhero, so he tends to use Kryptonite against Superman. Fortunately, the upcoming movie will have General Zod, who is also a Kryptonian, but has the benefit of military training that gives him an edge over Superman. The average person won't know Zod nearly as well as Lex, but I think it will still work well!

Really, what made them the most interesting to me were their internal struggles, which I realize every well written superhero will go through, but I found those two more interesting than a Batman or Iron Man for whatever reasons.

Thinking about it now, Superman and Spider-Man are probably a lot easier to empathize with than Batman or Iron Man for the very internal struggles that you mention! Although, it looks like the upcoming Iron Man 3 may try to provide a bit more emotion for Tony.

As an aside, I've just gotten back into reading comics, and Spider-Man has probably been the most fun so far. It's good to get that whimsical fun mixed in with the action!

Personally, I prefer the "This knob goes to 11" effect of Dr. Manhattan, who is both far more powerful than Superman, and even more conflicted and alienated by that power. It doesn't make for as "human" a story as Superman does, and it wouldn't make as good an ongoing franchise, but... I always like my knob at 11.

Dr. Manhattan is an excellent character. I wouldn't say he was more conflicted though. The question Manhattan proposes is "Would an omnipotent being really care about what happens to the rest of us?" In the end, I'm not sure Manhattan did. He found an appreciation for life, whereas before he didn't consider it all that different from dead matter. However, he's never going to stop you from getting mugged (unless you and him happened to bone at some point in the 20th century). He doesn't think that's his job. He feels his value is in using his powers to their fullest: by being a demigod, bringing life to far off galaxies.

Superman is less alienated, in that he can actually blend in with the population. The difference is that he yearns for acceptance. Selfish curiosity drives Manhattan. Superman is compelled by a selfish desire to be loved by everyone. At least, that's what makes the most sense when you have a guy (no mask) in an ostentatious outfit saving the world every day. Now whether or not he's portrayed that way by writers...I'll leave to the comic nerds. I'm not well steeped in the comics themselves. Loved the 90's-2000 animated series though.

DC's recent revamp is truly heart breaking. Basically an image rebranding at the point when the image "brand" is at its lowest possible point. Its the hipster rebel coming back to forcibly reclaim his parents basement. Graphing all the no longer cool image tropes ( big boots, little feet, skintight biomechanical suits and spiky hair ) onto what were refreshing authentic characters poised to be hip again now forever 'newcoked' into an also ran. Ugh ... Almost makes me want to go read some marvel.

Superman, in fact, has a legion of weaknesses. Notable direct ones are kryptonite, withdrawal from yellow sun/exposure to red sun, magic (and boy does the DCU have a lot of magic in it), and mind control.

But Superman's greatest weakness is probably his own character. He's filled with moral righteousness, trust, compassion, and naiveté. Superman always tries to see the best in everybody, to do the right thing, and be the better man, and these traits often return to punish him.

Sounds more like a weak fallible human author trying to justify his selfishness, immorality, distrust, heartlessness, and jadedness. Remember these stories are created by humans, and they are stories, not reality. Superman if real would be fascinating! Especially because of his righteousness, trust, compassion, and naiveté. In fact, these would be his greatest super powers and would not punish him, but strengthen him. It is the story author's mind which is unable to think of a story that is compelling with a strong super hero were his good qualities make him more exciting and complex.

Superman is an alien psychopath. His idealistic midwest ural (but importantly relatively well off, think elderly ural land owners with no competeing heirs just outside the property lines of suburbanly ideal mcarthy era smallvile) upbringing means he aspires to an idolized sanitized image of mankind as he attempts to conform. Look at the martian manhunter for contrast, he too has a pathological need to blend in, to "pass" for normal, except his "normal" is much more reality based, focused on the disenfranchised, the underclass and minority of the economically depressed migrant worker. (Why was there never a story with john jones seasonally working on the kents farm) Not that I'm complaining ... .. If a near omnipotent übermensch ever did walk the earth lets us all hope he is governed by a pathological need to blend in. Just as I'm glad the U.S. pretends to be rightious and governed by the principal of the greatest good (better to have an hypocritical jailer or landlord holding a gun to your head than one tha could just be like ... Well, ... France.) I'm happy Superman wants me to like him.

What is heroic (much less super-heroic) about stepping in front of a bullet or a train or whatever, to rescue someone, if you know you can't be hurt, or for that matter you can't fail. Generally your typical person would act in such circumstances if they knew they could not be hurt.

To me, a hero is someone who does something (like rescuing) in spite of the fact that they may be harmed doing it, or who attempts that act even if they are likely to fail. In that sense your non-super first responder (like a firefighter) is a lot more heroic than any "super" hero who only seem to be "super" in their powers and not in their actions or motivations.

The super-hero I liked was Hancock - a flawed individual who rescued people despite his flaws, and in the end, when it seemed like he may fail, when it was painful, when he might die (indeed, he was dying), took a risk in order to put the well being of others in front of his own - and then continued that with his personal relationships.

While super powers are interesting, they don't make a person a super-hero, even if they use them for good.

What is heroic (much less super-heroic) about stepping in front of a bullet or a train or whatever, to rescue someone, if you know you can't be hurt, or for that matter you can't fail. Generally your typical person would act in such circumstances if they knew they could not be hurt.

Seems like an unwarranted assumption. How painful is it to help the guy on the street? To help at the local hospice? To visit some old veterans' home and play Checkers? Over 99% of people don't care enough about their fellow man to help them, even when it costs them nothing to do so.

I agree that a fireman is more heroic than your average superhero, but considering that Superman is nearly all-powerful and does NOT let that power corrupt him - in fact, constantly frets that it might - makes him a lot more heroic than you give him credit for. Probably why most people like him and Spiderman; spiritually they're the same. They are what our politicians and corporate officials and judges and even the President should be: powerful and uncorruptable and concerned about doing the best they can.

In many ways, Superman is far more human that Batman. Yes, he's invincible and is rarely really in harm's way, but it's the way he carries himself--always holding back his own potential for the good of others. Controlling your inhibitions and being limited in how you are able to apply your talents for the good of society is a major component of being a functional human being. Superman faces the same struggles and challenges that we do, except for the physical harm aspect of it.

Meanwhile, Batman only deals with the physical limitations of being human, and only barely, at that, given his impossible training regiment and beyond-human physique. He doesn't try to fit into society, and he doesn't have to worry about it because of his limitless wealth. He also never really has to hold back when he's fighting crime in the batsuit; all he has to worry about is not killing his opponents, whereas Superman has to worry about that too, except with the knowledge that pretty much anything he does (even breathing, given his ice breath) could potentially kill someone.

Superman Red Son is quite enjoyable. Part of the story states that the only two countries not being comunist are US and Chile, so in this case not only Superman is against something, but an entire country is.

Sounds more like a weak fallible human author trying to justify his selfishness, immorality, distrust, heartlessness, and jadedness. Remember these stories are created by humans, and they are stories, not reality. Superman if real would be fascinating! Especially because of his righteousness, trust, compassion, and naiveté. In fact, these would be his greatest super powers and would not punish him, but strengthen him. It is the story author's mind which is unable to think of a story that is compelling with a strong super hero were his good qualities make him more exciting and complex.

They do strengthen him. Without those traits, he'd be dirided as a patronizing tyrant, rather than celebrated as a hero and an inspiration. At the end of the day, although he may pay the price for his righteousness, it's always a price worth paying. If he ever compromises his principles, he knows he'll be fraud.

Kyle Orland / Kyle is the Senior Gaming Editor at Ars Technica, specializing in video game hardware and software. He has journalism and computer science degrees from University of Maryland. He is based in the Washington, DC area.